EBOOK How Do Preaching and Corporate Prayer Work Together? - Cultivating Biblical Godliness Series (McGraw)

Description

In John 14:12–14, Jesus declares that His people would accomplish “greater works” than His. What are these greater works the church would accomplish, and how could they be even greater than Christ’s miracles? With biblical insight, author Ryan McGraw takes a closer look at this passage, along with the book of Acts, and explains that these greater works are connected to corporate prayer and faithful preaching, which are vital to the life of every local congregation.

How Do Preaching and Corporate Prayer Work Together? affirms the priority of prayer and preaching in the church and offers practical instruction for effective corporate prayer that, by God’s grace, will bear fruit in preaching.   

Contents

The Same Works and Greater Works 

• Faith in Christ
• The Same Works That Christ Did
• ‘Greater Things’
• The Importance of Preaching 

The Means of Accomplishing These Greater Things

• ‘Whatsoever’ You Ask?
• Why Corporate Prayer? 
• Are You Responsible for the Sermon?

Practical Conclusions 

• Prioritize Corporate Prayer 
• Recognize That Corporate Prayer Is Necessary 
• Make Corporate Prayer a Regular Part of Your Life 
• Focus on the Great Commission in Corporate Prayer
• Pray to Increase the Gifts and Graces of Your Minister 
• Repent and Believe 

Series Description

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that what the church needs to do most all is “to begin herself to live the Christian life. If she did that, men and women would be crowding into our buildings. They would say, ‘What is the secret of this?’” As Christians, one of our greatest needs is for the Spirit of God to cultivate biblical godliness in us in order to put the beauty of Christ on display through us, all to the glory of the triune God. With this goal in mind, this series of booklets treats matters vital to Christian experience at a basic level. Each booklet addresses a specific question in order to inform the mind, warm the affections, and transform the whole person by the Spirit’s grace, so that the church may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

Endorsements

“I am often asked why there is such little growth and so few conversions in our Reformed churches. There are probably a number of reasons, but a primary one is our prayerlessness. It was said that Christ could not do many miracles in Nazareth because of the people’s unbelief (Mark 6:5–6). The Spirit is emphasizing the spiritual truth that ordinarily God does not work when people refuse to believe. Can there be any profounder expression of unbelief than prayerlessness in our churches? Increasingly rare is the Reformed church that has a meeting devoted to prayer, and rarer still the church’s prayer meeting that is well attended.

This booklet by Dr. McGraw, How Do Preaching and Corporate Prayer Work Together?,is a biblically grounded exhortation on the need for corporate prayer meetings in the church and why you should be involved if your church has one. It is my prayer that God will use this booklet to call many churches back to the practice of the corporate prayer meeting. If you share this desire, read this booklet and distribute it widely in your congregation.” 
— Joseph A. Pipa Jr., president, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary 

About the Author

Ryan M. McGraw is pastor of First Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sunnyvale, California; research associate, University of the Free State; and adjunct professor of systematic theology, Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.